The only power conference ranked team in action around college basketball on Thursday is No. 17 Illinois as it hosts a good Maryland club in Big Ten action that is capable of the upset, but the Illini are solid favorites on the College Basketball betting odds.
Maryland vs Illinois: 2025 NCAAB Expert Analysis.
| Opening Spread/Totals Subject to Change: Illinois -9 (total 158) Expert Prediction: Illinois 77, Maryland 70 |
NCAA Basketball Betting: Maryland vs Illinois & TV Info
NCAAB Moneylines: Illinois -385 / Maryland +289
When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
Where: State Farm Center
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports Live
College Basketball Betting Analysis: Maryland
The Terps (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) won for the third time in four games Sunday, 69-66 over Nebraska. Maryland led for most of the game but squandered a nine-point lead in the final five minutes before Ja-Kobi Gillespie’s layup put it back ahead 68-66 with 40 seconds remaining. The Terps’ Julian Reese came up with a steal on Nebraska’s next possession and with 22 seconds left, Rodney Rice made the front end of a one-and-one to give Maryland a 69-66 lead.
Connor Essegian
Essegian missed a 3-pointer with three seconds left, and time ran out after the Terps’ Jordan Geronimo missed the front end of the bonus. By going 1 for 3 from the free-throw line down the stretch, the Terps stayed under 70 points, which ended the Huskers’ 36-game winning streak when holding their opponent to 70 points or fewer. Maryland improved to 12-1 at home and has beaten Nebraska in seven consecutive home games.
Kevin Willard
“You look at the schedule, and you have to be really realistic at times with your team,” Coach Willard said. “My goal was to be 5-3 right now [Maryland is 4-4 in the Big Ten] with our schedule. I thought that was what we should be and that, in my opinion, I still think we should be somewhere in that range. We’ve had a rough go of it, and we’ve got three of our next five on the road, and I knew this January was going to be really tough.”
Ja-Kobi Gillespie
Gillespie eclipsed 1,000 career points with a deep step-back 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first half, and the junior transfer from Belmont led all Maryland scorers with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. It was the 12th 20-point game of his career and his fourth of the season. Gillespie also dished out five assists and collected four steals. He leads the team with 82 total assists (4.3 per game).
“Coach drew that play up, and I knew I just needed to get downhill, try to get fouled, or get a layup,” Gillespie said of his crucial go-ahead bucket. “That steal Ju had been definitely big. That won us the game, really.”
Ja'Kobi (@k0b1g) showed up against Nebraska. 😤
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 19, 2025
Pointscorers
Rice finished with 15 points, and many of his shots came during crucial game moments. Selton Miguel was the third Maryland guard to net double-digit points, totaling 13. The Gillespie, Miguel and Rice trio combined for 10-of-24 shooting from the three-point line.
Derik Queen
Queen arrived in College Park as one of the most heralded recruits in program history, and has lived up to the hype early in the season. Queen leads Maryland in scoring at 15.1 points per game and is second with 8.1 rebounds per game. His scoring average is the fourth-best among all-time Maryland freshmen, dating back to 1947-48.
The Offensive
Maryland has been explosive offensively, averaging 83.2 points this year, which ranks as the ninth-best average in program history and ranks No. 22 nationally. Despite the Terps being 0-4 this year in true road games, all four games were tight battles decided by an average of 4.3 points and two were against top 10 teams (No. 8 Purdue, No. 9 Oregon). Last year, Maryland finished with a 4-8 record in true road games – its best record since the 2020-21 season. The last time Maryland had a .500-or-better road record was the 2018-19 season (6-5).
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Illinois Basketball Analysis
No. 17 Illinois (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten) will fall out of the Top 25 with a loss here because it lost 80-78 at No. 12 Michigan State on Sunday in its last game, although the Spartans are a very good team. The Fighting Illini took a 10-point lead in the first half and were trailing by one and had possession when Kylan Boswell turned over the ball with 5.9 seconds left. MSU’s Tre Holloman made two free throws on the ensuing possession.
Spartans coach Tom Izzo then told his players to foul Boswell instead of giving up a 3-pointer. Boswell made the first free throw and after missing the second intentionally, he got to the ball and shot it from the baseline over the backboard, and the officials waved it off.
Kasparas Jakucionis
Illini star Jakucionis was held to season lows in points (three) and minutes (nine) because of foul trouble, as he fouled out early. A critical technical foul was issued by referee Jeffrey Anderson on the Illinois bench in the late stages as the Illini were gamely clawing back into the game with Jakucionis on the sideline. Coach Brad Underwood tried to hold his tongue regarding the officials.
“I’m not gonna go there without … especially ’til I watch the film,” he said afterward. “But the fourth one was awful. I’ll say that he got shoved in the back and pushed into a guy. And I mean, that one was just gross. Gross. I mean, how? Then they teed our bench. Their guy was up, but our guys got the T. So I didn’t get the T – it was considered on our bench. Unfortunate. Two-point game.”
Will Riley
Freshman Riley made six of his first eight shots before finishing with 19 points, his ninth-career outing in double figures for Illinois. He made multiple 3-pointers for the sixth time this season, but only the second time since doing so in six of the team’s first seven games. Totaling a game-high 16 first-half points to help the Illini build an early advantage in the contest, Riley also registered six rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Will Riley is COOKING 🔥
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 19, 2025
He's got 16 so far for @IlliniMBB 😱#B1GMBBall on CBS 📺 pic.twitter.com/RkXvcHRxin
Tomislav Ivisic
Ivisic amassed 13 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Morez Johnson Jr. ended the day with 11 points and six rebounds. Kylan Boswell nearly posted a double-double, logging 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
The Rebounds
This could be important for your college basketball betting, because Illinois out rebounded the Spartans 41-40 and moved to 13-3 on the season when winning the battle of the boards, The Illini also had a 15-13 advantage on the offensive glass, scoring 12 second-chance points. Illinois shot just 5-for-24 from 3-point range, the team’s second-fewest makes and attempts from beyond the arc this season.
Home Games
Illinois is 8-2 overall at State Farm Center this season, with its losses at the buzzer to No. 1 Tennessee on Dec. 14 and to Big Ten newcomer USC in the Illini’s most recent home game on Jan. 11. The Fighting Illini have outscored opponents by an average of 28.0 points at State Farm Center. Illinois is averaging 86.8 points, the team’s highest mark in 59 years, since averaging 87.4 ppg in 1965-66. Illinois is on pace for the No. 4 scoring offense mark in program history.
The Rankings
It ranks first in the Big Ten with a scoring margin of +18.8 points. That is on pace for No. 2 in the Illini record book behind the 1942-43 team, which outscored opponents by 20.6 points per game. The UI’s top mark in the modern era is +15.9 ppg set in 2004-05. Illinois ranks second nationally in rebounding at 45.2 boards per game, on pace for the program’s best average in 53 seasons, since posting 48.0 rebounds per contest in 1971-72.
^Maryland vs Illinois Last Meeting
This is the only scheduled meeting this season. Last year, they split two meetings. The one in Champaign ended 76-67 in favor of the Terps when they were unranked and Illinois was No. 10. Maryland outscored Illinois 39-28 in the second half, taking the lead for good on a dunk by Julian Reese with 15:32 to go that made it 47-46 and never looked back. Jahmir Young scored 28 points and Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Domask scored 26 points for Illinois, which shot just 22.5% (9 of 40) from the field in the second half. Maryland leads 15-8 all-time.
^Our latest @MarchMadnessMBB bracket: https://t.co/7ehVnrAsAh
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) January 21, 2025
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